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Category: Science

Crowdsourcing ConGen – Effective size of a population in flux

Posted on April 21, 2010June 16, 2010 By Andrew Thaler 2 Comments on Crowdsourcing ConGen – Effective size of a population in flux
Conservation, Science

ResearchBlogging.org

When presented with a threatened population in need of conservation, the simplest and most basic question a manager can ask is “how big is it?” Unfortunately, this is one of the most challenging questions to answer. Determining the number of individuals in a population is fundamental to effective management. Small, concentrated populations can be destroyed in a single sweep, while large, broadly distributed populations require more resources and complex management involving many stakeholders.

A population that is easy to sample is rare. Animals move – sometimes over enormous distances. Habitats are difficult or impossible to access. Entire popualtions may be adept at avoiding capture. For most populations, it is impossible to count every individual. In marine ecosystems populations can span the entire globe, and the cost of mounting an expedition to systematically sample all members is huge. In order to get accurate estimates of the number of individuals, ecologists have had to devise statistical techniques to estimate the size of a population.

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local coastal dinner

Posted on April 20, 2010April 20, 2010 By Bluegrass Blue Crab 2 Comments on local coastal dinner
Science

When I first moved to coastal North Carolina, my garden yielded miniature sweet potatoes, a handful of blueberries, and an abundance of mustard greens.  That’s it.  After trying pretty much every vegetable under the sun.  Turns out, not many plants like to grow in our soil… wait, I mean sand.

Coastal gardening and farming presents some unique challenges that I thought would mean the end of my quest to become a locavore.  But after a year of learning and connecting with our local farms, which aren’t necessarily the type to market to the local buyer, I have resumed my quest.  And I think I’ve succeeded, at least for today.

My dinner included only a few things not from the coast: champagne vinegar, olive oil, gin, and avocado.

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Save the Planet, it’s the only one we’ve got… or is it?

Posted on April 17, 2010 By David Shiffman 8 Comments on Save the Planet, it’s the only one we’ve got… or is it?
Science

In honor of President Obama’s newly announced space exploration plan, I am reposting one of my favorites from the old site. Original comments can be found at the old site.

On this blog, we’ve discussed how many current fisheries practices are completely unsustainable, because we are simply taking too many fish from the oceans. We’ve also discussed how we can’t just stop fishing because too many humans need the food.

We’ve  discussed the energy crisis, and how some the present methods our civilization uses to power our lives are destroying the planet through pollution, environmental destruction, and emissions that cause global warming. We’ve also discussed the fact that people need energy.

We’ve discussed how some current mining practices, such as top-mining, are an environmental catastrophe. However, it is undeniable that we need the minerals that come from mining.

Many more problems are facing the world today. There simply isn’t enough room for all the people we have, and there are more people every day (and less room for them because of sea level rise). Many people today simply don’t have enough fresh water to drink, and thousands die each day from this– a problem that is only getting worse as population increases. The present economic crisis, one of the worst of all time, means that in addition to millions being out of work, governments don’t have money for solutions to these problems.

Things look pretty grim…. but is there any kind of solution that can solve all of these problems at once? A universal solution, as it were (pardon the pun)?

To find it, we need to think well outside of the box. In fact, we need to look in a whole new direction.

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Michael Specter takes on Pseudoscience

Posted on April 14, 2010April 14, 2010 By Andrew Thaler 1 Comment on Michael Specter takes on Pseudoscience
Popular Culture, Science

Michael Specter gives a talk at TED2010. ~Southern Fried Science

World’s deepest hydrothermal vent found!

Posted on April 12, 2010April 12, 2010 By Andrew Thaler
Science

At 5000 meters in the Cayman Trough. Check out the rest of the videos at the ExpeditionLog YouTube channel and follow Dr. Jon Copley on Twitter @expeditionlog. ~Southern Fried Scientist

10 reasons why marine mammals aren’t as cute as you think they are

Posted on April 8, 2010October 31, 2013 By David Shiffman 44 Comments on 10 reasons why marine mammals aren’t as cute as you think they are
Science
Image from PrettyFabulous.com

When people learn that I’m a marine biologist, they often assume I got into this career because I want to be a dolphin trainer. The general public seems to believe that marine mammals are cute and cuddly and innocent, but sharks are cruel and evil and bad. In reality, nature is an amoral place- our morality is, by necessity, anthropocentric and doesn’t really relate to the wild behavior of animals. If this wasn’t the case, though, here are ten reasons why marine mammals aren’t as cute and cuddly and innocent as people sometimes think they are.

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Reader mail: Sustainable shark finning?

Posted on April 5, 2010April 5, 2010 By David Shiffman 5 Comments on Reader mail: Sustainable shark finning?
Conservation, Science

Our latest reader mail comes from my friend Mike, who writes for the conservative political blog SaveTheGop. Though we don’t agree on much, he’s usually a reasonable guy. His question concerns a post I recently wrote about Hawaii’s proposed bill to ban the sale of shark fins within their state.

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WhySharksMatter’s 2nd PCR

Posted on April 5, 2010April 5, 2010 By David Shiffman 1 Comment on WhySharksMatter’s 2nd PCR
Science

After the failure of my first PCR, we tried again. This one is more successful. Of my 7 samples, 5 amplified. We aren’t sure why the other two didn’t, so I’m going to try to re-extract DNA from them and try a few different primers with them this week.

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An update on WhySharksMatter’s first PCR

Posted on March 31, 2010April 4, 2010 By David Shiffman 1 Comment on An update on WhySharksMatter’s first PCR
Science

I know that many of you have been losing sleep over the questionable quality of my first PCR and gel. Well, the mystery has been solved! My lab partner made the gel with DI water instead of with TAE/agarose solution. Not only is that an easily fixable problem for the future… it’s something that, for … Read More “An update on WhySharksMatter’s first PCR” »

WhySharksMatter in College of Charleston magazine

Posted on March 30, 2010April 4, 2010 By David Shiffman
Conservation, Science

The most recent issue of the College of Charleston magazine came out this week, and it features an article about sharks by yours truly! Check it out below. Suggestions and critiques are appreciated. I know it’s hard to read- here is a link to the online article.

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